Today left Grass Patch at 7.30am. We had been having a few problems with the house batteries which was a worry going into the Nullarbor plains today. We headed up to Norseman last town before entering the Nullarbor. After a lot of sorting it out on the phone and having problems getting through to the company another two hours ticked by holding us up. Bit of a story but we got it sorted and on our way. All the dials and readings are looking good tonight so 🤞🤞 After Norseman, which was just over an hour from our camp this morning, we headed into the big trip crossing over the Nullarbor Plains. This was the main reason for this trip to do the crossing. Weather better than yesterday without those extremely strong winds which made driving very hard. The sun was out a little on and off. Two hours after Norseman we arrived at the Balladonia Roadhouse arriving about 1.30pm. It will be a different life on the crossing but all good fun. All the Roadhouses have caravan parks out the back of them. I was presently surprised how nice the setting was all laid out amongst the trees some sites with power connections some not. You pay at the Roadhouse then go and choice a site. The only problem crossing the Nullarbor we can’t top up our water tanks. Due to shortage of water in this area. So have to really ration ourselves. We do have lots of bottled water on board. Yesterday I was telling you about all the wheat that they grow in this huge area of WA that we have been driving through called The Wheatbelt. So thought that I would briefly explain the story behind it. In the early 20th century, settlers in the state of WA began clearing the natural vegetation from the land in order to plant oats, barley and Wheat. The wheat gave the the region its nick name The Wheat Belt. The problem was without deep roots to soak up rainfall, water was able to filter down to massive salt deposits below the surface. When the water table rose that salt came to the surface and began increasing the salinity of the Wheat Belts ground. That’s it very briefly but really interesting to go into google WA Salt Lakes and see all the images. We were passing areas where these salt lakes are but didn’t really have the time to go searching for them. But we did fly over a massive cluster of huge lakes on our way to Perth in a very large area really fascinating. Below just a few shots going along the start of the Nullarbor Plains but no points of interest along this stretch and tomorrow. Not until we get down driving along the coastline with its high cliffs and rugged coastline. If lucky we might get a glimpse of some Whales but might be just too soon in this season which usually commences in May.
Shortly after we left Grass Patch this morning we passed this very small salt lake.
A glimpse of another one. Not a lot of water in some of them and I believe they sometime dry right out. These are nothing to what I would have loved to have seen.
We have now started our trip along the Nullarbor Plains which was always going to be the highlight for PT. Something he has wanted to do for a long time. So far the roads are excellent better than what we have been going over. Hope it lasts. As you can see not a lot of traffic. Good easy straight driving with a few little bends. We haven’t started yet what they call the longest straight in Australia. I think that will impress you Daniel after your interest in the big straights we did last year especially along the Kimberley’s.
Passed this big red area which really shone when the sun was out but by the time we stopped and I got to the spot a cloud went over and made it all dark. It possibly had chips of Granite in the soil which was catching the sun. The colour was amazing. Also a couple of lakes in the distance which I presume would cover all this area in the wet season.
Zoom in on these photos and you can see the long straights that go on and on.
I will let you know when we cross the longest straight in OZ
The Nullarbor Plains is 1256km long. Nearest major Cities are Perth and Adelaide. Nullarbor means no trees in Latin but really it is covered in Bluebush and Mulga and we have seen Gum trees. People have also discovered space junk in this area 🤔 and you can play the worlds longest golf course , an unbelievable 1365kms long with a hole at each town or Roadhouse along the way. Think about that!!
Not sure which place we are stopping at tomorrow but will decide then if we are going to do the Nullarbor in three nights or four. Probably depends what the weather throws at us. It’s so changeable. One minute we having heavy rain then it quickly passes and the sun is out.
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